Steam-turbine blower.



W. McCLAVE.

STEAM TURNS-BLOWER.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 18. 19N.

Patentd D60. 28, 1915.

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UNITED sTATEs PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM MCCLAVE, OF SCRANTON, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNORv TO McCLAVE-BROOKS COMPANY, OF SCRANTON, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION OF PENNSYLVANIA.

STEAM-TURBINE BLOWER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 28, 1915.

Application filed November 1`8, 1914. Serial No. 872,776.

A Scranton, in the county of Lackawanna and State of Pennsylvania, have invented cer-,

tain new and useful Improvements in Steam- Turbine Blowers; and I do hereby declare ythe following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, and to the gui-es and letters of reference marked thereon.

Thisvinvention relates to turbine blowers of that type wherein the rotor of the turbine is rigidlyrconnected with the impeller ofthe blower and rotates in unison therewith, the objects of the invention being to provide a structure in which the air will be afforded an easy and free entry to the impeller whereby noise incident to the movement of,

the air at high speed or itscontact with the parts of the apparatus will be largelyeliminated and at the same time the rotor chamber 'and steam ducts protected from the cooling action of the air passing to the impeller, other objects of the invention being to simplify and improve the construction in such wise as to prevent or overcome the injurious effects of wear, cheapen the cost of production and prevent water of condensation from the roto-r chamber reaching or injuriously affecting the bearings which support the combined rotor and impeller shaft.

The invention consists in certain novel details of construction and combinations and arrangements of parts, all as will be hereinafter described and pointed out particu larly in the appended claims. l

Referring to the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a front elevationof a steam turbine blower embodying the present improvements. Fig. 2 is a section of the same in a vertical plane longitudinally of the axis of the shaft. Fig. 3 is a section of the peripheral portion of the rotor chamber substantially on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1. Fig. L is a plan view of the top central por- -tion of the rotor chamber. Fig. 5 is an end elevation and a longitudinal section of one of the nozzles. Fig. 6 is an elevation of one of the selfadjustable collars for preventing the water of condensation or steam from escaping from the rotor chamberor reaching the supporting bearings of the shaft. Fig.

Like letters of reference 'in the severall igures indicate the same parts. v

As is usual in devices of the character to which the present invention relates, the structure embodies a iue or casing A adapted to be built into the wall of a steam boiler furnace, usually that portion of the wall forming the ashpit. In the present instance the casing A is preferably of substantially cylindrical form having at its front edge an outwardly extending fiange A, and at the bottom a duct A2 through which the exhaust from the impeller chamber may be conducted into theflue formed by the casing A so as to be discharged into the ashpit with the inlowing air, the exit of the duct A2, however, being located beyond the impellergi whereby the exhaust steam is preventedfrom exerting vany injurious influence on the impeller itself or by any chance escaping into the atmosphere.

'The flange A before referred to is preferably employed as the means whereby the casing A is connected with and adapted to rigidly supporta rotor casing or housing, and the latter constitutes the sole support for the rotor and the impeller B which lat- .casi-ng around the entire circumference.

The part E is provided with an inwardly and forwardly tapering projection F, the walls of which curve toward the center o'r axis of the casing and -terminate in a construction Which will be hereinafter described for supporting the bearing of the rotor and impeller shaft G. The other or front portion E of the rotor casing or housferred to.

Extending around the peripheral portion.

of the front member E" or from the upper portion thereof down on each side are ducts E3 best shown in dotted lines in Fig. l, which ducts at their upper ends terminate in threaded o-penings for the reception of pipe connections H. rlhe pipe connections H are each provided .with a valve H and constitute branches of a main steam-supply pipe H2 also provided withv a valve H3. lntermediate the pipe connections H is 'a third pipe connection H4 which leads from the steam supply into a diagonally arranged cylindrical nozzle chamber formed in a boss l2 on lthe front memberE, as shown in Figs. 'l and Ll. The

inner end of said nozzle chamber l is lpro- `vided with a seat .for a steam nozzle l adapted to be driven into place and the rear or outer end of the nozzle is provided with a screw thread 7c for the reception of a threaded socket wrench, `'whereby the j ln'ozzle may be WithdraWmshOuld repair 85 be necessary. rlhe outer end of the nozzle chamber l is closed by a screw` plug l',

,ends of the ducts E? it will be noted that -said ducts are curved inwardly and then outwardly as at Et, so as to. enter the nozzle chambers atl substantially right .angles to the axis ofthechambers and' so as to avoid anyinterference with the removal of the plugs or nozzles. y

vThe shaft Gr within the `rotor chamber y is' providedwith an integral"fdisk-like*-por* tion G which serves a`s the means wherebyA the rotor litself is rigidly attached .to 4,the

shaft7` and in "the preferred construction,` 'the rot'or'is formed' by two -opp'ositelydis-i posed circular plates L ,clamped to'oppositel 65 faces of the disk by screws or appro# connection withy the nozzles at the lower' ,idear/ae cross section yin Figi). They may be cast in individual units or in blocks made to Vconform t'o fthe curvature of the periphery ofthe rotor. The side edges of the vanes travel in close proximity to the front plate E of-the rotor housing and therefore in closevproximity to theexits of the nozzles vl. The curvature of the vanes and Adirection of the nozzles is such as tov give the highest efficiency from the momentum of the steam issuing from the nozzles and tending to impart rotary movement to the rotor .and at the same time the pressure of the steamtends to advance the rotor longitudinally of its shaft or aXis in a direction contrary to the thrust of the iinpeller B which. drives the air through the.casing A.

rlhe rotor and impeller' shaft G ispref erably made of several diameters at dider-` ent points in its length', the successive dia-meters toward the ends'being reduced for the application of the bearings and self-adjust. ing collars. As illustrated, forexample, in

Fig. 2, it will beseen thaton the largest diameter of the shaftwhich is-on the inner side of the; rotor lthere is 'mounted amsteel bushngll adapted to form the bearing or contacting surface for a self-adjusting c ol-' lar- N, shown in elevation in Fig. 6. This collar makes a steam and water tightjoint with the bushing, and itsv peripheral flangelike portion is "conned `'between radial bearing surfaces in the-rotorlhousing. Said radialv lbearing surfaces 'are preferably formed byv an annular cupped bushing N2 seated in a corresponding recess in the hous- .ing and a'cup' cover plate NB secured in place `by^su1tlable screws or `fastenings,

whereby the self-adjusting collar N may be' permitted a Alimited,movement or selfcen tering adjustment radially of the shaft, but it. is held' from rotation in unison `with the to the .bushiligjhl save. that itis of somewhat smaller` internal diameter'to/it the smallerdiameterfof vthe shaft, and a corre` rspondinglyfconstructed selffadjustingcol- VVlar vwith cupbu'shmg and'zcu'plcover, as at @Vf are.l provided for preventing the leakage ofvste'amfcr water atthe front of the Sroto r.chambeny llnboth'instances the selfshaft by pins a on the cup clover locatedr loosely between llugs n, Fig. G, on thel collar. @n the opposite side'ofthe rotor the shaft isl provided with a bushing 0 corresponding adjusting collars are provided with radial openings l) at top and bottom for the adi mission and escape of lubricant, said lubricant being supplied to the inner collar through duct P which extends radially up to a point near the periphery of the rotor housing, and the lubricant is supplied to the front collar from a lubricant cup P2 through a duct P3, all as clearly shown in Fig. 2.

The bearings forming the radial supports for the shaft are preferably annular ball bearings, that lettered Q for the front end of the shaft being heldin position against the collar O, as an abutment, by a clamping nut Q threaded on the end of the shaft and preferably acting against the said'bearing through an intermediate washer O2 which .serves as the seat for a thrust ball bearing R. The latter is sustained in position by the said washer O2 and by a cap or. cover plate R secured to the hub E2 of the housing by set screws or'bolts of ordinaryconstruction. The lubricant passage ordnet P3 at one end communicatesjvith the ducts in the selfadjusting collar O', and at the other end communicates with a passage P4 leading to the ball bearings, the flow of lubricant through the latter passage being regulated by a valve screw P5 and the chamber for the reception of the lubricant being defined by the cap or cover R and the wall PG, thus providing for the retention of a body of lubricant in which the lower portion of the ball bearings will travel, excess lubricant may be drained away when so desired througn a drain cock P2 of ordinary con-` struction. Y

At the inner end of the shaft, a ball bearing S of the usual annular type is seated against a shoulder S on the shaft, and longitudinal movement is prevented in an inward direction, by an end piece S2 surrounding the shaft and secured to the.inwardly extending projection of the rotor housing. The end piece S2 is provided at the lower side of the shaft with a double wall forming an oil well s2 in communication' withthe bottom of the bearing chamber through a port s vwhereby oil tending to creep along the shaft and escape to the exterior will be deposited in the well and flow back into the bearing chamber. Lubricant is supplied to this bearing through a duct S3 and wall S2 in connection with the end piece S2. serves to retain a body of the lubricant at the bottom of the bearing, whereby effective lubrication is insured, but at the same time provision is made whereby any excess of lubricant will not find its way along the shaft, but'will overiow from the chamber through an opening S5 located at thelowest point of the wall S, and if desired having a screwplug which may be removed when lubricant is being supplied to the bearing. In other words, it

' end of the shaft which latter projects through the end plate S2 and it is preferably y7 and 8, it will be noted that, at the bottom of the forwardly extending projection F, ini asmuch as one of the objects of this projec- Vtionis to form a clear air space spreading out over the inner face of the rotor housing to overcome or prevent the tendency to excessive condensationk by reason of the cool- 'ingaction of the rapidly flowing current of air toward the impeller. The impeller B before referred to is mounted on the inner provided with a` tapering nut or cap piece T for permitting the air to close in gradually around the hub so as to prevent as far as possible any whistling or screaming action when the air currents attain a high velocity.

The steam entering the rotor housing and. passing through the vanes of the rotor finds its way around and along the faces of the rotor to the bottom of the 'chamber and at exhaust steam may be led into the casing A for discharge into the'ashpit with the entering air or, without changing the connections, other than to insert and remove suitable plugs to be presentlyexplained and providing appropriate pipe connections, the exhaust steam may be led away to a point remote fromthe blower. As shown in Figs. Q,

of the housing, oppositely dis osed threaded f openings are provided, one o said openings 1 being in vcommunication through, a [short section of pipe U with the duct A2 formed at the bottom of the casing A. This pipe U and duct A2 form a direct exhaust duct leading into the 4casing and when it is to be utilized exclusively a plug U such as ordinarily employed in pipe fitting work, serves to close the threaded opening in the front wall'of the jhousing. In case the exhaust steam is to be led away to a distant point, however, the pipe connection U is closed by a driven plug U2, Fig. 7, provided with an internal threaded cavity or socket for Athe reception of 'a'.fwrench, whereby it may be inserted or removed. Likewise the plug U of Fig. lis removed and a pipe U3 substituted, leading ofi1 to the desireddistant point for the discharge of the exhaust. In connec- 12o tion with or as a substitute for the plug U2, the inner end of theduct A2 is preferably closed by a plate V, which plate is held in place by screws v adapted to be readily inserted by reaching in through the casing A. The exhaust duct A2 is provided at the bottom with a drain duct lV for carrying ofl1 water of' condensation, which might tend to accumulate therein, and this insures the chambers and passages being left entirely 13o.

9e this point provisionis made whereby the .los

ing the connection between the casing and inner portion of the housing. Provision is' thus made whereby any of the parts may be i reached for renewal or repair with the utmost freedom, andin addition to the advantages thus attained, the structure is one in which there is a minimum condensation effect of the infiowing air on the steam ducts and chamben While the thrust of the impeller is taken by the thrust bearing at the front end ofthe shaft, it is in a measure lalso resisted by the action of the steam which enters the rotor housing axially in a direction contrary.

to the direction of the thrust of `the iinpeller. Furthermore it will be noted that by the provision of equally spaced nozzles the pressure' 'on the'rotor isfequalized when under full load and at the same time by cutting olf one ormore of the nozzles it is po'ssible to regulate the speed andpower of the rotor and the'volume of air driven into the boiler' furnace by the' impeller.

Having thus described `my invention,

what l claimas new and desire to lsecure by4 Letters Patent is,-`

1. ln anA apparatus such as described, thecombination with a shaft forming the 'sup port for animpeller and having an integra-l disk-like projection thereon, of a rotor embodying oppositely` disposed disks secured to opposite faces ofthe dislelike projection on the shaft, said diskshavingl at their peripheries under-cut channels and rotor vanes held in said channels, with means whereby the Adisks are separately held to'-L gether for clamping the vanes.

2. ln an apparatus such as described, the

combination with: ashaft forming a support for an impeller and having a diskflike projection thereon with parallel oppositely disposed faces, disks removably clamped to said oppositely disposed faces and mounted in parallelismv in planes at right angles to 3 the axis of the shaft, said disls having at their peripheral portions spacing lugs ,forI

maintaining them in parallelism and oppositely disposed undercut channels, impeller vanes mounted in said channels and projecting beyond the peripheries of the disks, and means for clamping the peripheral portions of the disks together.

3. In an apparatus such as described,the combination with a rotor housing embody-v ing inner and front sections adapted tobe'.

` peller.

. impeller and rotor.

as messes connected together tciform between them a rotor chamber, hub-like projections on the oppositely disposed faces of said sections,"

and having shaft bearings therein, a shaft mounted in said bearing, and a rotor mounted on the shaft within the rotor chamber, of an impeller mounted on one end of said shaft beyond the hub-like projection, nozzles for supplying'motive fluid to the rotor, and motive fluid ducts for supplying motive fluid to the nozzles located on the side of the rotor housing opposite that on which the impeller is located, whereby said ducts are located at a point remote from the current of air flowing to the imi. ln an apparatus 4of the class described,

` the combination of a shaft, a rotor mounted 4on the shaft at one end, an impeller mounted on the shaft beyond the rotor,' a

front. sections, a steam chamber formed entirely within and 'integral with the front section wherebythe steam will be free from refrigeratingeffects of air flowing tothe impeller, and a plurality of nozzles for ad- Amitting the motive fluid tothe rotor from e5 l housing forthe rotor including inner and ico admitting means being formed entirely within one sectipn of thehousing, and anA insulating chamber v.arranged between the 6. In anjapparatus such as described, the combination with a rotor housing embodying inner andvfront sections adapted to be connected together, to form a rotor cham-' ber, -said housing4 being provided with nozzles for the admission of .motive iiui'd to the rotor, and said inner and front sections being provided at the bottom with oppositely disposed threaddd openings for the exhaust of motive fluid, means for closing at will either onerof said openings, whereby the exhaust may be directed-through the inner or front of the housing, of a jroton shaft journaled in thehousing, a rotor mounted on` said shaft in the rotor chamber, means for preventing access of motive fluid to the bearings ofthe shaft, and means mounted on saidY shaft yfor inducing a current of air in a direction away from the center of the housing. j

7'. lnan apparatus such as described, the

l combination .With-a casing forming an air duct, a rotor housing mounted in line .with

but removed from said'casing whereby a A closing said duct, whereby access of exhaust from the `housing to the casing may be prevented, a second' exhaust duct'leading from the housing, a rotor shaft journaled in the housing, an impelier mounted on said shaft 'Within the casing, and a rotor mounted on said shaft Within-the housing.

p8. In an apparatus such as described, thel combination with a casing forming an air.

duct, a rotor housing rigidly connected with but spaced from said casing to form an air entrance space between the casing and housing, an exhaust pipe connection extending from the bottom of the housing to the bottom of the casing, a threaded lopening in the housing located opposite the said pipe connection, and a plug for closing said opening, of a rotor shaft Journaled in the housing, an impellenmounted on saidshaft Within the casing, and aV rotor mounted on said shaft Within the housing.

. VILLIAM MCCLAVE. v Witnesses:

THOMAS DURANT,

ALEXANDER S.` STEUART. 

